South Texas lands SpaceX spaceport

State, local job incentives help sway company’s selection of Brownsville

By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN
the Associated Press

Published: August 5, 2014;Last modified: August 5, 2014 11:30PM

McALLEN, Texas — SpaceX will build the world’s first commercial site for orbital rocket launches near Brownsville in the southernmost tip of Texas.

State and local incentives topping $18 million helped lure SpaceX, which seeks to build its own spaceport to have greater control over the timing of its launches. The company has said it plans to launch 12 rockets a year from the Boca Chica Beach, a short walk from the Gulf of Mexico and just a couple miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border.

Gov. Rick Perry’s office said the state will provide $2.3 million from the Texas Enterprise Fund. The state will offer an additional $13 million from the Spaceport Trust Fund to the Cameron County Spaceport Development Corp. to pay for infrastructure development.

“Texas has been on the forefront of our nation’s space exploration efforts for decades, so it is fitting that SpaceX has chosen our state as they expand the frontiers of commercial space flight,” Perry said in a prepared statement.

SpaceX plans to make an $85 million investment and create 300 jobs. The company already has a rocket testing facility in McGregor that employs 250 people.

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said, “In addition to creating hundreds of high-tech jobs for the Texas workforce, this site will inspire students, expand the supplier base and attract tourists to the South Texas area.”

Brownsville Mayor Tony Martinez said he always knew Brownsville had a good shot at landing the facility. Locations in Florida, Puerto Rico and Georgia had apparently been considered as well.

“It’s a barrier breaker,” Martinez said. “It opens up a lot of doors for a lot of things.” He said SpaceX hopes to have the first launch in 2016.

The Greater Brownsville Incentives Corp. committed an additional $5 million to the project. Over a 10-year period — longer than the state’s incentive program — Brownsville expects SpaceX to create 500 jobs.

Gilberto Salinas, executive vice president of the Brownsville Economic Development Council, said the region’s work is just beginning. He said his organization will facilitate the project’s construction, help work out supply chain logistics and look for opportunities to draw related companies into the area.